I love this historical fiction series. This is the second book, but it can totally work as a stand alone. The series focuses on the three intrepid Merriwell sisters.

Diana Merriwell is a journalist, and she's struggling to adjust to her newfound social class. She works in secret to bring down men who prey on women. Family friend, Giles Sinclair, similarly has secrets to hide. But when he realizes he needs an investigation, he turns to Diana for help.

Diana is awesome and such a great strong woman. And Giles is somewhat of a dream man. He's so selfless and wants to badly to be able to help others.

This book has so much pining and great chemistry. I loved the machinations of their family who could never quite decide whether they wanted to promote a relationship between Diana and Giles or not. The story was utterly engrossing and hard to put down

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

4.5 starts rounded up

This was my first book my Virginia Heath and the second book in The Merriwell Sisters series. I do wish I had read the first book before reading this one because I think it would have given me a little more context for the characters, whereas I was thrust into the story and the world without much explanation. Diana and Giles can be polite to each other but they do not like one another. When Giles’s father, a Duke, dies suspicion around Giles’s birth arises and Giles must keep family secrets secret while Diana is trying to uncover the truth for a newspaper article she is writing. The pair then begin working together when Giles is threatened and take off on a journey around Britain.

I have decided that I am not a big fan of regency romances as trade paperbacks. This book wanted to be a rom-com so badly but wasn’t funny. I want heat in my historical romances and this had a barely there kiss and a brief open door seen at the 90% mark. Slow burns can be fine but there needs to be a tension and heat so thick around the two that it erupts into fireworks not a blink and you miss it scene. The concept itself was one that I’ve enjoyed in historical romances, but this book just didn’t work for me. I found myself skimming sections and did not begin caring about the characters until after the 50% mark. I think this is a book that is a me issue and that most readers will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This series is such a fun time and this one was no exception. I loved the two main characters and their banter with each other. The chemistry between the two main characters was so easy to see and I loved seeing their relationship with each other go from enemies to lovers.

I love regency era stories and this scratched that itch. The Bridgerton girlies are gonna love this.

I loved this one, even more than the first book in the series!! I can attest that you will love this Regency rom-com!! I loved the banter, the romance, the mystery, the slight slow burn and the side characters!! 😊
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Giles Sinclair, a Duke and Diana Merriwell, a investigative and gossip reporter team up to uncover his family’s secrets, their search brings up more than they bargained for, including their feelings for each other.
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It reads as an enemies to lovers story but it really isn’t. There’s underlying tension between Diana and Giles, they throw jibes, verbal sparring and clever words at each other and everyone else around them is convinced that there are feelings between them but they both deny it!! Their antagonistic behaviour towards each other is hilarious!! It’s so easy to root for them!!🥰
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There’s a lot of witty banter, chemistry, swoon worthy moments, and hilarious moments that made me LOL!!! Dalton the pirate butler is comedic and has some pretty funny lines!! Also, Diana’s sister Vee, and her family is loving, sweet and supportive even with their matchmaking plays!! Spice is also 🥵
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The mystery is interesting, also the secrets that Giles and Diana keep add a little bit of intrigue!

Adapt this series to our screens!! 😂
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Thank you @netgalley @smpromance and @virginiaheathwrites for providing me with an eARC.

I have the first book in my shelf and haven’t read it yet but you don’t need to to read this one.

I loved Diana and Giles pared together. They are both determined to right wrongs, stubborn and unrelenting attracted to each other while being friends. They also are harboring each others secrets: Giles not being the true heir to the dukedom and Diana being the secret writer at a newspaper. It’s a good story, a couple slow places but mostly an e notable read! Loved the characters including all the side characters. The vulnerability and emotion of the MCs was great, really well developed. I liked the flip on the traditional historical romance.

Overall I’d definitely recommend for those who love historical romance and enemies to lovers. It’s heartwarming, modern twist, witty and sassy banter, and a good love story.

Another read that I unfortunately haven’t quite finished yet but feel like I have a good feel on already to give a review. I will update later if feelings change or if I feel the need to add more.
I loved the first book in this series and when I had heard a second book was coming out following Diana I was so excited! She was such a spit-fire, strong headed, and fun character in her sisters story, so I was more than happy to see her as one of the MC’s in this story.
I do like that Giles is a bit more mysterious than Hugh. I found High could be a bit negative and stuffy, so a love interest that had an air of mystery and was a bit more carefree was much appreciated.
All in all I am enjoying this read, but find it is a bit too much like Bridgerton; more so the show than the books. That being said though, I love Bridgerton and think any fans of the show would likely enjoy this book a lot!

I loved reading about Giles and Diana's story so much! They were my favorite characters from book 1, so this was a delight to read. Regency romance, family drama, and mystery are all included in this book. I really appreciate the author's intentional creation of women who are independent and intelligent. Diana had a job that she loved and the support of her family for success in her career. Giles is first portrayed as a party boy type of person looking to embarrass his father in whatever way he can. The reveal of his true character was excellent! I loved the dynamic between he and Diana as they worked to piece together his family history. There were some minor flaws with overused descriptive phrases (ie. "butter wouldn't melt in his mouth"). This phrase is unusual enough that it caught me off guard each time it was used and would slow the flow of the story for me.

I would definitely recommend this book and cannot wait to see what is in store for Vee's story next!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for an eARC of this book.

I think my main take away was it wasn’t like the first book. And by that I mean it wasn’t funny and that’s what I came in looking for. Once I ruminated and got over that fact I feel like this was a pretty good historical romance…. But I was hoping to re-live the fun of Never Fall for Your Fiancée.

Second sister, Diana is secretly an investigative reporter dishing all the dirty secrets of London. She’s got plenty of enemies and plenty of secrets. While family friend Giles, a Dukes heir, needs help unraveling his own family secrets in order to save his inheritance.

This opposites attract romance with plenty of close proximity and a shared goal made for good reading. The MC’s originally introduced in book 1, had plenty of growth and development through this book.

I mean, who doesn’t fall every time for the lovable rogue with a heart of gold?!?

As I said, this isn’t a comedy. There were a lot of dark issues, not uncommon for a historical romance, but I did not anticipate them in this book. This book is worth a read, but definitely go in expecting a traditional historical romance and you’ll enjoy what you get.

Thanks to SMP Romance for my eBook review copy.

Really enjoyed the next installment in the Merriwell sisters series! This one follows Diana, the strong-willed, clever middle sister, while she digs up lots of dirt for a newspaper, and Giles, the best friend of Diana's brother-in-law, whose father just died and left Giles in quite the predicament.

Both characters were so much fun to spend time with. The banter was entertaining, the longing was fun and paid off well, and the story was nice and interesting! This is a perfect cozy read if you're into regency romances and mysteries!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the e-ARC!

Hilarious banter, gossip and a life changing secret bring Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair closer together. As her alter ego "The Sentinel," Diana has a nose for finding the truth and printing it in The London Tribune. Giles Sinclair is a close friend of the Merriwell family. After his father's death, he needs The Goddess of the Hunt, Hunter of The Truth and Fearsome Kicker of Hornets, Diana, to help with his "Dirty Secret." The banter never gives up as Diana is determined to solve his secret and Giles has another biscuit. What a way to fall in love!
Some steam!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

An extremely funny regency romance filled with swoon worthy romance. Calling all romance readers, this one’s for you!

Just a really fun romp with great banter!

I’ve been in a huge historical romance phase—is it a phase when it’s almost 3 years Long—and this one managed to cut through the noise!

This was a fun sequel to the first book. I look forward to the rest of the series! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Never Rescue A Rogue by Virginia Heath was one of my most anticipated books this year, after adoring the heck out of its predecessor last year.. I just knew I would love this one as well.

Giles and Diana’s story is one that captured me from the very first page and I just couldn’t get enough of these two! They were the perfect match besides both of them claiming that a romantic attachment was simply out of the question for both of them and yet.. they couldn’t help but fall for one another in the end when the circumstances lumped them together at every turn.

Not only is this one a swoony romance but! The drama is nail biting good and you will not be able to let this one go till the very end.

I was interested to read more about the Merriwell family after reading the first book, even though it was okay. I wanted to give the next one a shot to entice me further into the series.

Overall, Never Rescue a Rogue was okay. Enemies to lovers (especially in the regency period) is always fun to me, so it gets a few bonus points for that. However, the issue of the characters I found in the first book continues here. I found them somewhat one dimensional. Each character seemed to be their archetype and little beyond that.

There was some witty banter and a bit of interest with the plot itself, but if I do not love the characters, it is hard for me to get into a book.

Since I finished Never Fall for Your Fiancée I knew I needed more of Giles and Diana and this book delivered! This book feels almost Enola Holmes-esque with all of Diana’s sleuthing and Giles just getting dragged along for the ride 😂

The banter is wonderful, tensions are high, and there is a little mystery thrown in that needs to be solved. Diana and Giles are a treat of a couple!

If you like historical romance I highly encourage you pick up this series! I can’t wait to see what comes next for the youngest Merriwell

“Even if I wasn’t in such a precarious position and I was able to offer something— which obviously I cannot— I’d have to be a fool to have a romantic entanglement with a headstrong and opinionated harpy like you. Talk about incompatible.”
“We come from different worlds.” She nodded, playing with the tassels of her shawl for all she was worth. “Not that I have any interest in a romantic entanglement, either, but if I did suddenly feel the urge, it wouldn’t be with a privileged idiot such as you. I barely like you.”
“And I barely like you, too, harridan.” The forced chuckle grated like rusty nails in his throat.

The Merriwell sisters come from poverty, a father who was an alcoholic and forger, and growing up this way has left a mark on the middle sister Diana. When her older sister Minerva marries an Earl (Never Fall for Your Fiancee) their fortunes change drastically but Diana doesn't lose that hardened shell. I had no problems jumping into the series here but I do wonder if I missed some of the beginning building attraction between Diana and our hero Giles, friend to Diana's new brother-in-law. Diana and Giles have a teasing, sarcastic back and forth that has their family and friends side-eyeing them and Diana and Giles doth protesting too much.

Inside, she would always be the scrappy forger’s daughter from Clerkenwell, more comfortable amongst the flotsam and jetsam than she ever would be here in Mayfair.

Diana works for the London Tribune, she claims she just checks the grammar on articles but her family knows she writes the cheeky society columns, using her ability to blend into the background at functions to get the good gossip. What they don't know is that she is also The Sentinel, a column that outs aristocrats and businessmen for their dastardly deeds, a much more dangerous undertaking. Giles is the heir to a duke but has a very strained relationship with his father, while extremely successful in the business world, Giles hides that and pretends to be a ne'er-do-well. Diana sees past this and even though she sasses him about his rogue persona, she sees behind the mask and Giles may poke at her wallflower persona, he is attracted to her sharp mind. Giles also has a secret, four years ago on her deathbed, his mother told him that she wasn't really his mother. Confronting his father, Giles learns his mother was a “harlot” and that he is illegitimate, endangering his claim to the dukedom with this Dirty Secret.

The more he got to know her, the more he became convinced she read him like a book, and that really galled. Because Giles liked to think he was always the canniest person in any room and several paces ahead of the crowd— but she was always hot on his heels. Or more often, he trailed on hers …

What I really liked about their relationship was how much of a solid friendship these two had. The author laid out their background, Diana growing up losing trust in the people supposed to care for her and having to support and protect her two sisters, especially the youngest Venus. Diana also has the pain of a sexual assault in her past, we get the full context of it around the last 15%, but what really bonds these two together is the pain of never having a healthy relationship with their fathers. They also are masters of masks and show the mask to the world and keep their private selves hidden. So when they start to see each other's hidden self, we get that great having someone see the true me, which I think can hit the best in reading romance relationships. I did miss seeing some of the attraction heating up and coming to love the person building blocks as I think these two started off already attracted that way. When we get the “I love you”, it didn't feel particularly moving or sparking.

“I am afraid I come as the bearer of grave tidings. Very grave tidings indeed . . . Your Grace.”

The main plot, which has them hopping from London to Shropshire and back, is Diana coming to Giles to tell him she's uncovered that he's engaged to a debutante. Giles, angry, confronts his father and learns it's actually his father who is engaged. His father is fearing something and wanting to shore up the line of succession with a “true” heir; Giles senses someone is blackmailing him. Unfortunately, Giles' father dies before he can learn more as he takes over the dukedom, it becomes his mission to find out who the blackmailer is and find the proof about his birth. Diana comes along on the mission to help because of her skills as a reporter and we have a reason for our couple to be together.

Dukes and forger’s daughters were a laughable combination. Ridiculous in fact. Why on earth would she want to kiss him when he vexed her so? But of their own accord, her lips tingled at the idea . . .

In the later first half, Giles learns Diana is The Sentinel and is furious because of the danger and insists that his valet/friend Dalton accompany her back to London when she has to leave Shropshire, Diana learns his secret of possibly not being the true heir, and they have tipsy late night make-out session that pretty much convinces them their attraction is real. There is some “I can't marry you!” from Giles because of the uncertainty of his birth and Diana not wanting to lose her freedom but that's more or less just lingering in the background. I really liked the side character of Dalton and wouldn't have minded at least a novella of him but he gets a behind the scenes romance here.

She didn’t want him to care, had never wanted any man to care about her nor care about him in return, but now that she knew he did, it ran riot with her emotions.

About midway the, mostly obvious, villain is revealed to be Giles' uncle, who was banished after kidnapping a woman to Gretna Green to marry, and his son, Galahad. It's a race to get the information about Giles' true mother before them and we add Wales to the hopping spots. Diana's younger sister Vee (Venus) gets added and it seems like her and Galahad may have some friction between them that alludes to a future book three couple. The last twenty percent gives us reveals on Giles' mother, Diana giving into her feelings, a bedroom scene, and a heel turn.

Giles studied her with interest. “I am starting to think that my Goddess of the Hunt is as much a rescuer as she is a Kicker of Hornets.”

The last 10% was a very quick wrap-up, too quick for me, and I wonder if the opium case The Sentinel (Diana) was wrapping up will make an appearance in the third. If you're looking for a couple that had a solid friendship and believable connectivity, if not fireworks, Diana and Giles were very warm in that regard. I also enjoyed the world setting in this, the author brought in elements that helped to set the time period and have me feel it. The alluding to who younger sister Vee might be paired up with has me very excited to read her book, some of that sparking that I felt was missing a little here, seems like it could be in her relationship in spades.

Giles and Diana’s banter, and sniping is simply the best. Add in the peg-legged Pirate-turned-butler Dalton and the Merriwell extended family and amazing things happen.

This book was a wild ride of crazy events and utterly enjoyable. Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for my copy (in exchange for an honest review) if you haven’t met the Merriwell sisters yet I highly recommend checking out this series. 😊

This is another example of NEVER judge a romance "series" by the first book.
Heath's first book, NEVER FALL FOR YOUR FIANCEE, just didn't really do it for me. Something about Hugh and Minerva didn't jive...but be still my heart for Giles and Diana because SWOON.

rating: 4 STARS
genre: romance, historical romance
tropes: enemies-to-lovers, my brother's best friend (kind of)
steam: open door (lots of pining, one descriptive scene)

The banter here - oh my god. I absolutely loved reading the dialogue between Giles and Diana. I wish I'd been able to hear it in real time because I feel like we'd have another Lizzy/Darcy or Emma/Knightley couple on our hands. The fast-talking jabs were just top notch.

I love seeing how all the other characters came into play matchmaking these two together. Vee with her astute observations of her sister, Olivia with her deep background on Gile's family, and Dalton might have been one my absolute favorites.

Honestly, if you like enemies-to-lovers and reading about someone fighting for their Dukedom sounds appealing to you, read this book. I don't think you'll regret it.